Ramalingam

I. INTRODUCTION

In the underlying marital dissolution action, appellant Suhasini Ramalingam and her husband A.N. Narayanswami jointly retained a neutral accountant, respondent Michael Thompson, to aid resolution of their community property and support issues. During the March 2000 trial on property issues, Thompson testified that only 5,871 of the 55,136 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock acquired by Narayanswami were community property. Based in part on Thompson’s testimony, the trial court ruled that all community shares of Johnson & Johnson stock had been sold during the marriage to pay commu•nity expenses. Ramalingam appealed and we affirmed the trial court’s ruling. (In re Marriage of Narayanswami (Mar. 18, 2002, H021786) [nonpub. opn.] (Narayanswami).)

Following the adverse outcome of her appeal, Ramalingam filed a legal malpractice action against the attorney who had represented her in the marital dissolution action. She subsequently amended the complaint to add a cause of action for accounting malpractice against Thompson and his accounting firm, Greco, Felice & Thompson (hereafter, defendants or Thompson). Defendants moved for summary judgment and the trial…